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Home Method Instant Pot Instant Pot Side Dishes
5
/5
1 hour 8 minutes

Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts

Dairy Free Dairy-Free Gluten Free Gluten Free Vegan Vegan Vegetarian Vegetarian
Jump to Recipe
By: Denise Bustard36 Comments
Posted: 8/2/21 Updated: 8/2/21

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This Instant Pot wild rice pilaf is the perfect low-effort side dish! With mushrooms and pine nuts, it is flavorful and so easy to prepare.

When it comes to easy side dishes, you may not think of your Instant Pot first, but it's actually pretty perfect because of the 'hands off factor'. From Instant Pot mashed cauliflower to Instant Pot sweet potatoes to this wild rice pilaf, there are so many easy options for you!

Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts
Jump to... show
1 Reasons you'll heart this recipe
2 Recipe video
3 Ingredient notes
4 Step by step directions
5 FAQ
6 Storage & reheating
7 More Instant Pot sides
8 Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts

Whether you cook this wild rice pilaf for a weeknight dinner or for your holiday table, it's easy, effortless, and so tasty! It can even be prepped a day or two ahead and re-heated. How's that for convenient?

Don't forget to pin this post to save it for later!

Reasons you'll heart this recipe

  • the contrast between the chewy wild rice blend, crunchy pine nuts and soft mushrooms is so great
  • you can prepare it ahead and reheat
  • it compliments a number of recipes, and is great for either weeknights or a holiday!

Recipe video

Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Ingredient notes

ingredients required to make wild rice pilaf
  • rice- I've used a brown basmati wild rice blend for this recipe, as I like the mixture of textures you get from the different types of rice. I recommend Lundberg brand, which contains a mixture of Long Grain Brown Rice, Sweet Brown Rice, Wild Rice, Wehani Red Rice and Black Rice.
  • mushrooms- button or cremini mushrooms both work great in this recipe, make sure to wash well and slice.
  • thyme- using fresh thyme brings a brightness to this recipe that you miss when using dried; with that being said if you can't get your hands on fresh thyme, try adding ½ teaspoon of dried thyme.
  • wine- we deglaze the pan with white wine which builds flavor into the recipe; use a dry wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, or simply use a cooking wine. The alcohol from the wine will evaporate off, but if you still want to skip the wine, you could swap for chicken stock.
  • pine nuts- the nutty flavor of the pine nuts compliments the earthy and savory flavors of the rice so well. Taking the time to toast your pine nuts will bring out the nutty flavor even more!

Step by step directions

sauteeing onions in the instant pot

1. Sauté onions- Select the 'sauté' function, then add the olive oil to the stainless steel inner pot of your Instant Pot. Add the onion, and cook for 4-5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Make a space in the pan, then add the garlic and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the white wine, and scrape up the bottom of the pan, cooking for another minute.

TIP- it's a good idea to deglaze the bottom of your Instant Pot after sautéing to avoid triggering the burn warning.

ingredients for wild rice pilaf in the instant pot before cooking through

2. Remaining ingredients- add the mushrooms, salt, wild rice blend, thyme and stock to the pot. Stir everything up, ensuring that no rice is sticking to the side of the Instant Pot.

TIP- this recipe works in both a 6 quart Instant Pot and an 8 quart Instant Pot!

instant pot with 28 minutes on the timer

3. Cook- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to the 'sealing' position, and pressure cook on high pressure for 28 minutes. When the Instant Pot completes its cooking cycle, allow it to naturally depressurize for 15 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure and removing the lid.

stirring parsley and pine nuts into the instant pot wild rice pilaf

4. Finishing touches- add parsley and pine nuts, stir, and enjoy.


FAQ

Can I use a different type of rice?

This recipe was specifically tested using a brown basmati/wild rice blend from Lundberg. If you change up the type of rice, you will need to change the cook time.

See:
Instant Pot Basmati Rice
Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
Instant Pot Brown Rice

Is wild rice healthy?

Wild rice is a nutrient-dense whole grain that is rich in antioxidants and has many other health benefits. Read more about it here.

Can I add other vegetables to it?

Due to the long cook time, veggies turn to mush in this recipe (except mushrooms for some reason!) so if you want to add carrots or celery, you'll want to cook them separately and add them in after cooking.

overhead view of Wild Rice Mushroom Pilaf with Pine Nuts in instant pot after cooking

Storage & reheating

This recipe can be made ahead and reheats great!

Storage

  1. Cool completely.
  2. Add to an air tight container.
  3. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. Add the rice to a covered casserole dish.
  3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until warmed through.
  4. Add the pine nuts and parsley fresh if possible.

Food safety & rice

Cooked rice has the worst rap when it comes to food safety. However, rice is perfectly safe to eat when cooked and stored properly:

  • cool and refrigerate quickly
  • store for 4-6 days (personally I have a 4 day rule for leftovers)
  • reheat until steaming hot, and only reheat once
Instant Pot Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf with Pine Nuts in brown bowl

More Instant Pot sides

  • Instant Pot Brussels Sprouts (fresh + frozen)
  • Instant Pot Cauliflower (perfect + tender)
  • Instant Pot Broccoli
  • Instant Pot Carrots with Honey Glaze

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

overhead shot of wild rice pilaf in brown bowl sitting on gray counter

Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts

5 from 5 votes
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 28 mins
Time to pressurize + natural pressure release: 30 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 8 mins
Print Rate
This Instant Pot wild rice pilaf is the perfect low-effort side dish! With mushrooms and pine nuts, it is flavorful and so easy to prepare.
8

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ cup white wine see note 1
  • 12 oz mushrooms sliced; see note 2
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
  • 2 cups wild rice brown basmati blend see note 3
  • 2 cups stock chicken or vegetable

After cooking

  • ½ cup parsley chopped
  • ½ cup pine nuts toasted

Instructions 

  • Sauté onions- Select the 'sauté' function, then add the olive oil to the stainless steel inner pot of your Instant Pot. Add the onion, and cook for 4-5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Make a space in the pan, then add the garlic and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
    Add the white wine, and scrape up the bottom of the pan, cooking for another minute.
    sauteeing onions in the instant pot
  • Remaining ingredients- add the mushrooms, salt, wild rice blend, salt, thyme and stock to the pot. Stir everything up, ensuring that no rice is sticking to the side of the Instant Pot.
    ingredients for wild rice pilaf in the instant pot before cooking through
  • Cook- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to the 'sealing' position, and pressure cook on high pressure for 28 minutes. When the Instant Pot completes its cooking cycle, allow it to naturally depressurize for 15 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure and removing the lid.
    instant pot with 28 minutes on the timer
  • Finishing touches- add parsley and pine nuts, stir, and enjoy.
    stirring parsley and pine nuts into the instant pot wild rice pilaf

Tips:

1- use a dry wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, or simply use a cooking wine. The alcohol from the wine will evaporate off, but if you still want to skip the wine, you could swap for chicken stock.
2- button or cremini mushrooms both work great in this recipe
3- use a wild rice brown basmati or a wild rice brown rice blend; changing the type of rice will alter the cook time.
Storage
Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days; freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating
  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. Add the rice to a covered casserole dish.
  3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until warmed through.
  4. Add the pine nuts and parsley fresh if possible.

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/8 of batch, Calories: 263kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 389mg, Potassium: 427mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 485IU, Vitamin C: 9.3mg, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1.9mg
Author: Denise Bustard
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mediterranean

© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

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6 Quart Instant Pot
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Did You Make This?Don't forget to leave a review below, and tag us on Instagram using @SweetPeasAndSaffron or #sweetpeasandsaffron
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Cook time was adapted from Green Healthy Cooking!

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Meet Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.

Read more...

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Recipe Rating




  1. Kinny says

    Posted on 2/6/22 at Posted on 2/6/22

    5 stars
    Great! My grocery store only carried one kind of wild rice (bens long grain and wild rice) and I'm glad I read the directions/comments thoroughly because this particular brand you only use high pressure for 5-6 minutes and 10 minute's decompress. It would have been super mushy otherwise. Mine turned out perfectly done. Excited to try this with the suggested rice (stores seemed out of Lundberg), once I can find it! Also, toasting pine nuts only takes a minute or so, so definitely do that. Hope this helps anyone else who might be wondering the same.

    Reply
    • Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says

      Posted on 2/8/22 at Posted on 2/8/22

      Hi Kinny, so glad to hear that it turned out perfectly and that you were able to find the tips you needed here in the comments! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back to leave a rating and review, we so appreciate it!

      Reply
  2. Mischa says

    Posted on 12/5/21 at Posted on 12/5/21

    5 stars
    Loved this so much!!!! It was unbelievably easy and felt very gourmet. I got one of those mixed wild mushroom batches with kind of chewier varieties and it worked beautifully. I also like using just the sprigs of thyme, without having to take the leaves out and just removing the whole sprig after cooking.
    Can't wait to try your other recipes and really get the most out of this instapot!

    Reply
    • Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says

      Posted on 12/7/21 at Posted on 12/7/21

      Hi Mischa, isn't it delish?! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review 🙂 You're definitely in the right place for more quick and easy Instant Pot recipes... enjoy!

      Reply
  3. AC says

    Posted on 11/20/21 at Posted on 11/20/21

    5 stars
    Can I substitute this with quinoa? Looks very tasty and want to try it but whenever I make rice or rice substitute it comes out like mush or clumpy. I have a 6 quart instant pot.

    Reply
    • Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says

      Posted on 11/22/21 at Posted on 11/22/21

      Hello AC, Great question! It might be possible, but we haven't tested it with quinoa. The water ratio should be the same (1:1), but the cooking time would need to be drastically reduced (1 min with full natural pressure release). It might be advisable to sauté the mushrooms through before cooking just in case they aren't cooked through in the shortened cook time. See our Instant Pot Quinoa post for more details on pressure cooking quinoa! I hope this helps, and please report back to let us know how it turns out if you do try it!

      Reply
  4. Christine Moye says

    Posted on 1/10/21 at Posted on 1/10/21

    Do you think this would work with just wild rice? Or do you think it needs to be a blend?

    Reply
    • Denise Bustard says

      Posted on 1/11/21 at Posted on 1/11/21

      Hi Christine! I have only made this recipe using a blend. A quick google search tells me that wild rice has a different water ratio (1 : 1.5) and cook time (15-20 min with full natural pressure release). You could try changing the ratios and cook time, but I can't myself guarantee that it will come out the same. Good luck!

      Reply
  5. Lori Wilcox says

    Posted on 7/13/20 at Posted on 7/13/20

    5 stars
    Delish! I used 1 1/2 c. Brown rice, and 1/2 c. Wild rice. Toasted the pine nuts and also added some chopped canned artichoke hearts. Thanks for this yummy recipe!

    Reply
    • Denise Bustard says

      Posted on 7/13/20 at Posted on 7/13/20

      Hi Lori! Happy to hear you enjoyed. Thanks for sharing your modifications!

      Reply
  6. Eric says

    Posted on 3/23/20 at Posted on 3/23/20

    This did not turn out for me at all, they rice was VERY mushy.

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 3/26/20 at Posted on 3/26/20

      Hi Eric! I'm so sorry to hear this. Could you confirm for me which blend of wild rice you used as well as which size instant pot? Thanks so much. Hope you are safe and well!

      Reply
  7. Kristen says

    Posted on 12/19/19 at Posted on 12/19/19

    Is it possible to double the recipe in a six quart Instant Pot?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 1/14/20 at Posted on 1/14/20

      Hi Kristen! I have not tried doubling it and am unsure if it will fit. If you give it a try would you let me know how it goes for you?

      Reply
  8. Marjorie Ross says

    Posted on 6/17/19 at Posted on 6/17/19

    I've never heard of "brown onions". Will yellow or white o ions do?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 6/18/19 at Posted on 6/18/19

      Hi Marjorie! Any onion will do. Hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  9. Tammy says

    Posted on 4/21/19 at Posted on 4/21/19

    I am not a wine drinker. Is there a possible sub?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 4/23/19 at Posted on 4/23/19

      Hi Tammy! Yes, you can sub for chicken stock (or veggie stock). Hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  10. Heidi says

    Posted on 3/18/19 at Posted on 3/18/19

    5 stars
    Made this for company this past weekend. Wow, it is delicious. I used mushroom broth but that was the only change. Very easy and delicious. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 3/18/19 at Posted on 3/18/19

      So happy you enjoyed it, Heidi! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂

      Reply
  11. Tambra says

    Posted on 12/10/18 at Posted on 12/10/18

    Can you just use regular brown rice

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 12/10/18 at Posted on 12/10/18

      Hi Tambra, I've only tested with the wild rice blend, so I can't say for sure. I would check this post for the cook time for brown rice: https://greenhealthycooking.com/instant-pot-rice/

      Reply
  12. Arielle says

    Posted on 12/3/18 at Posted on 12/3/18

    Hi,

    Is there anyway to add chicken to this to make it a fuller meal for lunch prep?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 12/3/18 at Posted on 12/3/18

      Hi Arielle, that would work! Here's my go-to chicken breast recipe: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/baked-chicken-breast/

      Reply
  13. Elizabeth says

    Posted on 11/23/18 at Posted on 11/23/18

    Has anyone tried this in a slow cooker? If so, what changes did you need to make to the recipe?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 12/5/18 at Posted on 12/5/18

      Hi Elizabeth! I haven't tried, I have actually heard rice gets quite mushy in the slow cooker. But if someone has had luck I hope they can chime in!

      Reply
  14. J-Wo says

    Posted on 10/7/18 at Posted on 10/7/18

    Can this be made as stuffing for a turkey? If so, do you suggest less liquid or less cooking time since it will continue cooking inside the bird?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 10/7/18 at Posted on 10/7/18

      Hi! I have not tried that, and worry it might overcook and get mushy? But if you try it I'd love to hear how it turns out. 🙂

      Reply
  15. Brooke Lannert says

    Posted on 3/25/18 at Posted on 3/25/18

    Hi Denise,
    Can you share what brand wild rice you used?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 3/31/18 at Posted on 3/31/18

      I tested this recipe with Royal Wild Rice Brown Basmati Blend as well as Lundberg Wild Rice Blend 🙂

      Reply
  16. Amy/pinchmegood says

    Posted on 3/8/18 at Posted on 3/8/18

    Wow this looks so good! I just bought an Insta Pot! Can’t wait to try this??.

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 3/13/18 at Posted on 3/13/18

      Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  17. Serena says

    Posted on 3/7/18 at Posted on 3/7/18

    This recipe sounds great and I'm totally in love with my Instant Pot.

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 3/13/18 at Posted on 3/13/18

      Thanks, Serena!

      Reply
  18. Jennifer says

    Posted on 3/5/18 at Posted on 3/5/18

    Any chance you can provide stovetop instructions? I don't have an Instant Pot, but this looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 3/7/18 at Posted on 3/7/18

      Hi Jennifer! I haven't tried this, but I would follow the directions for this recipe, except adding as much stock as your rice package calls for. I can't remember the ratio for wild rice. Might be 2:1? Then cook for whatever time the package says. Some say 20 min and some say 45, it seems to depend on the blend. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Denise

Meal prep took me from feeling constantly stressed out about meals to cool, collected and in control. I want to share this amazing and transformational habit with you, so you can feel in control, too! Read more ...

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